Mahatma Gandhi

Who was Mahatma Gandhi?

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian lawyer who became the primary leader of India's independence movement. Better known as Mahatma Gandhi, he not only led India to independence from British rule but also inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world in several other countries. Best remembered for his employment of nonviolent means of civil disobedience, he led Indians in the Dandi Salt March to protest against the British-imposed salt tax and launched the Quit India Movement, a mass protest demanding "an orderly British withdrawal" from India. Born into a religious family in British India, he was raised by parents who emphasized on religious tolerance, simplicity and strong moral values. As a young man he went to England to study law and later started working in South Africa. There he witnessed rampant acts of racism and discrimination which angered him greatly. He spent over two decades in South Africa over the period of which he developed a strong sense of social justice, and led several social campaigns. Upon his return to India he became active in the Indian Independence Movement, ultimately leading his motherland to independence from the British rule. He was also a social activist who campaigned for women’s rights, religious tolerance, and reduction of poverty.

Awards & Achievements

Rabindranath Tagore, a great Indian polymath, accorded the title of “Mahatma” (meaning “high-souled" or “venerable" in Sanskrit), to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

‘Time’ magazine named Gandhi the Man of the Year in 1930.

Gandhi was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times between 1937 and 1948 though he was never awarded the prize. The Nobel Committee publicly declared its regret for the omission decades later.